


Make Me Better

by FirithAriel



Category: Bucky Barnes - Fandom, Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, F/M, Fluff, Light Angst, POV Second Person, short and sweet?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-19
Updated: 2018-05-19
Packaged: 2019-05-09 03:07:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,251
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14707949
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FirithAriel/pseuds/FirithAriel
Summary: It isn’t like Bucky to take you out to fancy dinners, or have champagne by candlelight. Or wear the suit he is wearing. Or one for romantic gestures at all!And the one time he does, it doesn’t exactly work out…





	Make Me Better

It was the dress that startled you. You were just coming back from your training routine, ready to take a shower and then steal some ice cream from the kitchens when you saw it: Someone had left a beautiful cocktail dress on your bed for you, along with a note. _Helipad on the rooftop, 8pm._

You didn’t expect Bucky to be there, dressed to the nines, hair in a fashionable half bun. He looked a bit stiff and out of it, but you blamed it on the expensive suit. Besides, you were being distracted by the table set for two, and the giant flowers bouquet on top.

“Okay, what did you do?” You say, crossing your arms on your chest.

“What? Why--?”

“The dress? The flowers? _Is that champagne?_ ”

“I just thought-- you’d like them?” He offers, sort of unsure.

You just look at him blankly: this is absolutely out of character for him! It wasn’t like Bucky to take you out to fancy dinners, or have champagne by candlelight. Or wear the suit he is wearing!  
Suddenly, he shakes his head, and goes to you, taking your hand in his and leading you to the table. He even pulls the chair out for you? What the hell is going on?

“In all the time we’ve been dating, you’ve never pushed a chair for me!” You say with a soft giggle. The smile he gives you is short and rigid, and it makes your own smile falter.

But you don’t have time to worry about it. As soon as Bucky sits down in front of you, a waiter comes from out of nowhere and pours champagne for you both.

“Okay, this is getting weirder and weirder.” You giggle again, and take the glass. Bucky raises his own glass for you to toast. To what? He doesn’t say.

Bucky downs the champagne in one gulp, and the waiter comes back to refill it. Bucky lets out a long sigh and takes your hand on the table.

“Are you going to tell me what’s going on?” You try again. The soft strokes on his thumb on the back of your hand lets lose some of your apprehensions.

“I just wanted to do something nice for you.” Bucky explains, if a bit sheepishly. “You’ve said you like this kind of thing, and I’m not always the most romantic guy.” He says, with a bit of a guilty smile.

Somewhat, you’re still not buying it. You manage to shrug it off for a while, as the waiter comes back with the starters. You can still see Bucky tense and fidgety, but you know he’s out of his element here. So you start making small talk to make him loosen up a bit, and also to calm yourself down.

Thing is, it doesn’t work. Bucky is still spacing out, not paying attention to what you’re saying, and not participating with you at all. A cold feeling starts setting on your stomach.  
What if he did this just to dump you?  
What if this is cause he cheated on you and is trying to confess it?  
What if he’s trying to tell you he doesn’t want you anymore?  
What if there IS someone else and he just wants to move on?

_What if?_

_What if?_

_What if?_

You try and insist on making conversation a couple more times, but there is no response. By the end of the main course, you too fall silent. Bucky doesn’t even seem to register that you have stopped talking.  
The waiter comes in with the desserts, but you stop him before he can put the pudding in front of you.

“No, thank you. I won’t be having dessert.” You say, wiping the edges of your mouth with the napkin and standing up.

Only then Bucky seems to snap out of his daze. “Doll? Where are you going?”

“Now you speak?” You ask. “Cause clearly I’ve been having dinner on my own!”

“Doll…”

Your eyes fill up with tears. “Why did you go through all this trouble just to ignore me?”

Bucky gapes like a fish out of water. “It wasn’t--”

“You know what? Whatever. If you wanted to break up with me, you should have just said it. This wasn’t necessary.”

Yes, you were jumping to conclusions and always expecting the worse. But Bucky wasn’t giving you any sign that reality was different from your catastrophic thoughts.

You don’t wait for him to reply and run back inside the complex, sorting the hallways as fast as your high heels allow you until you’re holed up in your room. For a minute, you forget you share your room with Bucky, until you hear his footsteps outside. Quickly, you take refuge in the bathroom, where the tears finally explode. No matter how hard you try, you still sob uncontrollably.

“Y/n? I am so so sorry!” He says, knocking lightly on the bathroom door. He stammers a few more phrases, asking you to come out, but if he ignored you all through dinner, you can ignore his pleas right now. “Please come out so I can explain.”

You don’t move from your spot on the edge of the bathtub. Not until you hear the thumping sound of a body dropping outside the door, followed by a thud on the door where Bucky hit it with his head.

“Please…” He repeats. “I swear is--” He takes a deep breath, and you can hear the shakiness.

Bucky starts muttering. His voice is so soft that you kneel beside the door, trying to hear him. He’s talking to himself now. You can make up a few of the words he’s saying: _idiot, screwed up, fix this, love her, stupid idea, stupid Tony, stupid Steve._

Another thump on the door startles you. And then another. You realize that Bucky is hitting his head against it while repeating _stupid_ over and over again.

You stand up and open the door. “Stop doing that, you’re not--”

You freeze. He’s sitting on his ass on the floor, knees bent on either side of his hips. His hands are holding a small velvet box and he’s staring at you in sheer panic.

“I-it was Steve’s idea.” Bucky manages to choke out. “It was his idea and Tony helped. Or paid for it really.” He starts to fidget with the tiny box. “I was so nervous-- I was trying to find the right moment-- and I--” He gulps hard and looks down. “I got so distracted in trying to make it perfect that I failed to--” He slumps his shoulders a bit. “Now I’m afraid you’re going to say no.”

“Perhaps if you ask me you’ll know.” You offer. Your heart is pounding so hard you feel faint.

Bucky looks up at you again and opens the box. “Will you marry me?” He chokes out. His hands are shaking.

All your previous questioning fades like dust in the wind. You kneel in front of him. “Okay, maybe you are a bit stupid.” New tears form in your eyes, but these are from happiness. You grin at his confused face. “Yes.” You whisper softly.

Bucky releases a relieved sigh and nearly laughs. “Okay…”

His hands are still shaking, so you put your own hand on top of his to help him slide the ring on to your finger.  
You don’t wait for him to stand up. You simply wrap your arms around his neck and kiss him hard, pushing him on his back.

**Author's Note:**

> Feedback is always appreciated!  
> You can also yell at me on my [tumblr](http://fadingcoast.tumblr.com/) and/or [twitter](https://twitter.com/FadingCoast)!!


End file.
